Submerged tank starts after 62 years?

[TallGeekyGirl]

I got these pictures in an email, but I found a web link for them:
http://englishrussia.com/?p=299#more-299

The page says that after a little maintenance, the tank actually started. Could this be even remotely possible??



Edit: Now that I've thought about it, this should probably go under Automobiles or Military. If so, could one of the mods please move it to the proper place? Thanks!

[Malruhn]

Come on! It's GERMAN engineering, of COURSE it would start!

That is truly amazing! Makes a person wonder how it ended up getting submerged there...

[me, no really]

The article gives likely accounts of how it ended up there, and it's Russian engineering, not German. It does say that it was under a layer of peat. I know that peat can preserve things that are buried in it, but I would have thought that it wouldn't have prevented water getting in and causing corrosion.

me

[WildaBeast]

Originally Posted by me, no really

I know that peat can preserve things that are buried in it, but I would have thought that it wouldn't have prevented water getting in and causing corrosion.

me

While water can speed the process along, it's actually oxygen that causes corrosion. The peat most likely kept oxygen away from the tank and that's what preserved it so well.

[TallGeekyGirl]

The lack of any appreciable corrosion is hard enough to believe, but being an archaeology buff I do understand the preservative qualities of peat bogs. (Bog mummies and all that...) But what's really mind blowing is that the thing supposedly started! I can't fathom that. It would seem that it would be impossible to get enough mud out of the engine for the parts to even move, much less get a spark and allow gas and oil to flow.

[Zachary Fizz]

Originally Posted by TallGeekyGirl

The lack of any appreciable corrosion is hard enough to believe, but being an archaeology buff I do understand the preservative qualities of peat bogs. (Bog mummies and all that...) But what's really mind blowing is that the thing supposedly started! I can't fathom that. It would seem that it would be impossible to get enough mud out of the engine for the parts to even move, much less get a spark and allow gas and oil to flow.

I suppose that if the engine had not been running when the tank was immersed, mud might not have penetrated the injectors. As the T-34/76 had a diesel engine, it would be much more forgiving of rough conditions than contemporary non-Russian tanks.

It's certainly a tribute to the designers and builders of the tank.

[me, no really]

The OP also states that as far as they had heard it was possible to start it after a small repair and service. It doesn't define what that was though. One person's small repair is someone else's major overhall.

me

[Bug Muldoon]

I've read about this elsewhere - the BBC site? - where it was said that everything but the engine was still in working order. The other mechanical parts were fine, but the engine needed more work to get going again.

And peat bogs are great for preserving stuff. The tank wouldn't have lasted forever, but I'm not very surprised it was still in good condition.

[Troberg]

Makes a person wonder how it ended up getting submerged there...

I have a book about the battle of Kursk at home, and somewhere in that it's mentioned that sometimes, when up against a tank with too thick armor or out of ammo, they just charged and pushed the enemy tank into whatever bog/water/hole that was nearby. I don't know if it's true or not, though.

[Hans Off]

I'm confused as to why people are doubting the lack of corrosion. As stated above and in the link, the tank was sunk into a peat bog, which is anoxic anyway!

I would be highly surprised if there was any rust on it at all!

[Hero_Mike]

Even a diesel tank will have electrical components on it - some Russian tanks used a V4 gasoline engine as the starter for the big diesel (because an electric starter would have been too big). The "little" maintenance would have almost all centred around the electrical systems - none of those things like being wet. Add to that the need to replace the battery (which would have been dead) and the fuel (diesel engines don't run well on fuel contaminated with water), and it's not just a case of pulling it out of the water and turning the key.

[Hans Off]

But the link didn't claim that they "just turned the key"!!!!

[snopes]

Preparing to pull it out.



People from the nearby village come to look how it will be done.

Komatsu D375A-2 is ready to go.





Through the muddy shore of the lake....







What a mint condition!





As far it has been known, after a small repair and service they were able to start its diesel engine.

[Ana Ng]

Sorry to go all We've Got Mail on you all, but what is the deal with this? It looks really interesting, I'd like to read more about it...

ETA: Saw nothing oin the news, only webpage links like this one.

Wow. I really thought the pictures looked like Sobibor, but apparently not. They're finding things there, which is good because it's one of those you hear so little about, having been pretty much destroyed by the Nazis before the allies could see it.

[The Goof]

It is a T34/76

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T-34

Originally Posted by The Goof

It is a T34/76

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T-34

With a German cupola welded to the top.

[The Goof]

Originally Posted by Delta-V

With a German cupola welded to the top.

I did not even notice that.:o

Originally Posted by Delta-V

With a German cupola welded to the top.

"From February to September 1944, heavy battles were fought in the narrow, 50 km-wide, Narva front in the northeastern part of Estonia. Over 100,000 men were killed and 300,000 men were wounded there. During battles in the summer of 1944, the tank was captured from the Soviet army and used by the German army. (This is the reason that there are German markings painted on the tank’s exterior.) On 19 September 1944, German troops began an organised retreat along the Narva front. It is suspected that the tank was then purposefully driven into the lake..."

A somewhat updated page for the tank is at: http://www.diving.ee/articles/art035.html , which includes a video of them starting the engine. Apparently the fuel and oil had been drained, they only had to replace the bearings on the drive wheels.